The United States Sentencing Commission, established by the
98th Congress, is an independent agency in the judicial branch of
government. The Commission recommends guidelines prescribing the
appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of
federal crimes. These data were collected to determine whether
sentencing disparities existed and whether the guidelines were
adequate. Basic information in the collection includes a description of
the offense, characterization of the defendant's background and
crimi... (more info)

The United States Sentencing Commission, established by the
98th Congress, is an independent agency in the judicial branch of
government. The Commission recommends guidelines prescribing the
appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of
federal crimes. These data were collected to determine whether
sentencing disparities existed and whether the guidelines were
adequate. Basic information in the collection includes a description of
the offense, characterization of the defendant's background and
criminal record, method of disposition of the case, and sentence
imposed. Felony and misdemeanor cases are included while petty offense
cases are excluded. Three types of additional information were used to
augment the existing data: (1) more detailed offense and offender
characteristics identified by the United States Sentencing Commission
but coded by federal probation officers, (2) actual time served in
prison from the SENTRY data file of the United States Bureau of
Prisons, and (3) information necessary to estimate prospective release
dates from the hearing files of the United States Parole Commission.
The unit of analysis is the defendant.

Access Notes

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Download Statistics

Located within ICPSR, NACJD is sponsored by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, and the Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

This website is funded through Inter-agency agreements through the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of
the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its
components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation,
its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).